GMA Interview Interrogation: Melancholic Orchestra (The Ukraine)

Possibly one of the more controversial interviews we have done, given the current crisis in the eastern half of The Ukraine.

Melancholic Orchestra are a duo who play Gothic Doom Metal in it's instrumental form, the band formed in Donetsk, The Ukraine in 2009 and to date have one demo and two albums out. The most recent album "Forest of Insomnia" was released online in August 2014 and features ten tracks.

GMA sat down with Viktor Chelgy and spoke about the Ukrainian Metal scene, including current problems and the lack of exposure alongside the band's history

Hi Viktor, could you give us a brief history behind Melancholic Orchestra?

Hi!!! The start of our creative path originated back in 2009, when we had a different name. It is not easy to determine the style, in fact we wrote songs in different genres ranging from Ambient to Gothic. But in early 2013, we decided to release a demo album and create it by using different styles, in fact it was an experimental release to see how our people and fans would react.


Since Melancholic Orchestra are from The Ukraine, could you give us an insight into the metal scene (places to gig, the scene history, problems faced there, etc)

Yes we are from The Ukraine, and we have a very difficult situation within the metal scene, especially in our hometown of Donetsk, rarely are there any concerts, the television channels do not broadcast or promote any metal bands, instead they mostly cover pop and rap, I find it difficult to even call it music.


The conflict between Russia and The Ukraine, how is this affecting the scene? Are there less gigs?

The conflict does not affect the scene because the music is not linked to the policies.


Melancholic Orchestra have just released their second album "Forest Of Insomnia", can you tell us the background behind it?

It was very hard work when recording and producing the album "Forest Of Insomnia", as there were technical issues. Currently we decided to take a break and start writing new material for the next album.

"Forest Of Insomnia" is available as a download

You play Gothic / Doom Metal, but of the instrumental kind, what made you choose this?

Basically it's just that this style is closer to us in spirit at present.


How did you get into playing music and who influences you?

I personally have been going long in the music scene, I work as a teacher at the music school. My colleague Vitaly also soon began to play music but only as a composer.


What can fans of Forest of Insomnia expect from you in the near future?

From us you can expect anything, so expect more experiments and good music


Are there any greetings you wish to send out to fans, friends, etc?

I would like to convey a message to all of the fans of our music, a huge hello and listen only to good music!!

Rhys, thanks for the interesting conversation, good luck to you!!


https://vk.com/melorchestra